Countries in the northern hemisphere are vying for control of the
polar region, which is thought to contain up to a quarter of the
world's undiscovered oil
and gas. The presidential security council issued a strategy document
which outlined Russia's plans for defending its vast swath of polar
territory up until 2020.

A major component of the strategy was
the creation of a group of general-purpose units of the armed forces of
the Russian Federation and other military units and agencies, primarily
border guard agencies to ensure security.

The Kremlin has engaged
in sporadic tub-thumping over its right to the Arctic's resources ever
since two mini subs planted a titanium Russian tricolour on the seabed
under the North Pole in 2007. President Dmitry Medvedev said in
September that the region must become Russia's strategic resource base
for the 21st century.

Moscow's bold assertion that it will
militarise the region comes as Russia, the United States, Canada,
Norway and Denmark (via Greenland) lobby UN bodies to decide
jurisdiction over the region.

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The five countries with an Arctic
coastline have exploitation rights over a 200 mile zone extending north
of their borders, but the Kremlin is claiming a much bigger territory
on grounds that an underwater ridge running towards the North Pole is
connected to Russia's continental shelf.

The "cold rush" for the
Arctic's resources has intensified as global warming opens up new
shipping routes and eases the difficulty of offshore exploitation and
drilling.